Life in the American moon colony,New Houston, could only be compared to living in a fish bowl. Even those who lived within the center of the dome felt as if the walls were keeping them trapped like caged birds. It could have been a faint sense of nostalgia that made it seem that way, even though every inch of their land was custom made to replicate home back on earth; with the rural country grasses carpeting the edge of their home and the vast, bustling, concrete streets of their only city which contained the majority of the populace.
However this façade could only last so long for eventually everyone would look up at what should have been glorious blue skies and see the twinkling stars that had captivated every human at some point in their lives. Back on Earth, the vivid lights had given people a sense of optimism, but that wasn't the case for the people of New Houston. They were a daily reminder to them of just how far away they were from their real home, a place they had taken for granted.
The unexplainable sensation that had once left them feeling astonished had finally run its course for the people of New Huston. This artificial land was a dream they were ready to wake up from. All these aching emotions ultimately found their way to a closed up corner office within the colonial legislature building, one of the government offices within the city.
Within this office, America tapped his foot against the flooring, unable to examine the piled up work before him. The sinking feeling in his stomach only grew when he read the numbers that he multiplied to his expenses.
He glanced down at the foreboding papers one last time before taking a deep breath. The pace of his foot had slackened until it became motionless. While sitting back up into a proper position he pushed his glasses closer to his face. If history had taught him anything, it was that ignoring a problem did not make it go away.
America's current problems with maintaining his colony were that he had to constantly pay large sums of money just to keep everyone alive. Exporting things from earth to the moon was highly expensive and it seemed as if the small amount of resources that were exported from the moon did not help pay the cost. He still hoped that eventually the colony would be able maintain itself. Maybe then he could go back home.
As he skimmed through the stacks of papers and letters one in particular stood out. His papers were all printed expect for maybe a signature or two however the one he was currently looking at was a handwritten note. Puzzled as how it had gotten mixed up among the others he began to look through it.
To: Alfred F. Jones
I 'm beginning to feel as though it's no longer safe here anymore. I've grown suspicious of those living around me. These problems facing my friend to the west aren't just coincidence. I fear that they too will start plaguing our lands as well. Don't P-
"Mr. Jones." A hand lightly tapped America's shoulder stopping him from reading on. "The President has sent a message to you."
He yawned before turning to face the women. "Why didn't he just call me?"
The women took a step back away from him, the extremely disheveled man in front of her was out of place among the spotless, white collared force that worked within the building. To her, it was difficult to understand why a man like him was so high up in the chair of command. "He sounded rather concerned when he called, apparently he had called you; but you never picked up."
America didn't detect the sour tone of her voice; instead he immediately placed his hands into his pockets only to find that the device he was looking for was not there. "Oh, I must have forget my phone at home then."
Sighing she thrust the object she was holding out towards him. "I wrote down the instructions he left for you."
He hesitated before taking it from her hands. "Instructions for what?"
Rather than answer him she turned on her heel and began walking away. "Read it."
. . .
"America called. He's coming back in a month."
Canada tilted his head to the side as England walked into the living room with a file in hand. He was getting concerned as to why it was taking the Englishman so long to find a few papers. Now, having fully comprehended what England had said, he understood why.
"America's coming back. Did something go wrong up there?"
England shrugged his shoulders before taking a seat in an armchair adjacent from the Canadian, "He doesn't know why. Only that his boss ordered him to." Putting the papers down on the coffee table before them.
Canada lightly nodded before grabbing the folder set out before him, "Does he know if any of the others are coming back as well?"
"I didn't ask him about that but I guess that he probably doesn't know either."
For a few moments his gaze wandered from the Canadian to the only window in the room. Raindrops lingered on the glass from when it had drizzled a little less than an hour ago. Judging by the overcast weather it was likely that it would rain again soon.
"I talked to Japan a few weeks ago though. Other than the expenses, his colony seems to be doing fine."
A silent paused followed before Canada spoke up, "From what Prussia's told me, Germany has been having a few . . . issues with his colony."
England removed his gaze from the window and looked back towards Canada again, "What type of problems?"
"Technical difficulties. He told me that there has been a few power outages in a couple of places but luckily it's never been the entire area."
"Is it getting better?"
The memory of the last time Prussia had visited him replayed in the Canadian's head. He had laughed, talked over him, made Canada both frustrated and flustered the entire time and did everything else that he usually did. Despite this he couldn't help but remember the expression Prussia made when he brought up his brother.
"Err . . . they're not sure why things aren't working right yet." Although Canada's voice had gotten softer with each word, England could still understand what his friend was trying to say, "H-Have you heard anything from China."
"No one's heard anything from China."
"Oh."
This was the only thing Canada could say. Out of the four nations living up there, China was the only one that no one seemed to be able to get in contact with. It was obvious that the Chinese colony was still fully functioning, and communications between it and the mother country on earth were still being received. Why no one else was able to get in contact with China was a mystery.
As Canada remained silent he began to notice the expression the man in front of him as making. With his head resting on his hand, he looked almost like a bored student in the middle of class. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared off into space, deep in thought.
"At least America's coming back soon." interjected Canada.
England blinked before looking back towards him, "Hm?"
His jaw clenched for a few moments, "You seem a bit worried about America and the others."
The Brit rolled his eyes at the notion, "Please, with him up there I don't have to worry about being constantly pestered or my house being broken into at the middle of the night."
"What about France?"
"That's . . . different."
"Of course it is." England didn't hear him speak under his breath.
A few uncomfortable moments passed between the two nations before England once again spoke up, "You haven't looked at the papers yet." He gestured towards the folder in the Canadians hand.
"Oh yeah." England watched intently as Canada opened up the file and began reading the papers.
With each minute Canada's expression grew more surprised. After re-reading the pages a second time he snapped his gaze back up, "You're going?"
"Possibly. There is still a lot of legal procedures I need to go through before I can start working on it."
"You do know that this isn't exactly a cheap thing. Even America and China's economy are starting to become affected by the amount of money they're spending."
"Does your opposition on this mean that you've decided as well?" This cut Canada's protest short.
"No I . . . I'm still not sure, I . . . I just don't want to rush anything."
"I can understand that. America might not though."
Canada let out a heavy sigh as he thought about the last time he talked to his brother, "I don't even know why he wants me up there. He used to want to be the only country with people on the moon."
"You know he can't do anything about Japan, China, and Germany being there."
"I know but why does he want us up there too? I know it's not because he misses us that much, he would call more than once every month if he did."
"I don't think it matters why besides I'm not doing this for him I'm doing it for me."
"Would you even have considered this if he didn't ask you to?" England narrowed his eyes towards the Canadian. For a few minutes they simply stared at each other. With nothing else to say Canada stood up from his seat, "I'm supposed to be meeting France soon, I think I'll leave now."
The previous expression faded from England's face as stood up as well, "Alright, then I guess I'll see you later then."
Canada grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and started heading out towards the house's foyer while England followed behind him, "Maybe we can meet up with America when he comes back. Did you two talk about meeting at a specific time?"
"He wants me to meet him at the naval academy in Annapolis. The President's giving a speech there on the twelfth of June. He thinks he won't be too busy that day."
. . .
Meanwhile among the many living within the in east coast of the United States, one young girl was soon to learn what it would feel like to either achieve a dream or fail it.
"Open it." The impatient request had been the first thing said since two teenagers had first entered the simple suburban house. Each one of them had gathered around a young girl sitting on a couch. No one knew how long she had been clutching the sides of a thick envelope as if letting go meant losing her life. Her eyes were locked on the envelope as the rapid thumping of her heart escalated the prickling sensation growing all over her body. Despite this she continued to remain motionless and afraid of the answer to a question that had plagued her mind for four years.
"Come on Jane you've already been accepted to the University of Maryland, what does it matter if you get rejected from this one?" A sharp gasp emitted from the girl following her statement. The curly haired brunette beside her smiled innocently when she turned to face who had shoved their elbow into her stomach.
"Let her have a sec to prepare, Jenna." Whispered the Brunette.
"She's right Cassie." It had taken Jane a lot longer to speak then she had planned. The two leaned closer as she slipped her hand into envelope, almost as if they could get a peek at the letter before she did. Taking a deep breath, she slowly slid the paper out. Had her mind not have been a jumbled mess of what if's she may have noticed a hand grab the other end of the envelope before it was whisked out of her hands.
"What the heck Jenna!" The friend in question darted to the other end of the room before the letter could be removed from her.
"Making this go faster." Her eyes flew to the content of the page, it wasn't long before she looked back up towards the other two.
Jane's harsh and erratic breathing was the only sound that filled the house while Jenna's lips remained sealed. "Damn it don't just stand there looking at me like that, if I wasn't accepted then just tell me!"
Jenna snorted before the paper in her hands fell to the floor. "Congrat's you're in." Before the words could fully register in her mind, Jane dropped to her knees and seized the paper swifter than when it had been taken it from her.
It had taken her longer than Jenna to look through the paper. "Jane . . .?" Cassie bent down to her friend's side before placing a hand on her shoulder, it however pulled away the moment her friend fell onto her back.
Cassie like her friends made a grab for the paper in order to validate if what Jenna was saying was true. The first sentence however said everything 'Congratulations you've been accepted to United States Naval Academy.' What came afterwards didn't seem to matter to the girl laughing on the ground.
Despite what her two friends thought, this letter was not the completion of her dream. Only the first step in it.
However, June 12th 2045 was not a day she would forget.